Monday, October 20, 2008

Broken Hearted

A Christian relief worker was gunned down in Afghanistan today. Her crime? Telling people there is a God who loves them, and showing them in small ways what that love looks like.

Thirty-four year old Gayle Williams worked for SERVE Afghanistan (Serving Emergency Relief and Vocational Enterprise), an inter-denominational Christian charity that helps the disabled.

CNN reported, "The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death, saying on its Web site that it killed the "foreign woman" for preaching Christianity in the country and adding that it had been following the woman for some time."

Walking to work. That's when her murderers took the opportunity to silence her, permanently they thought. They gave her message a wider audience than they realize, and afforded her greater influence than she ever dreamed. Someone so unassuming and non-threatening. And yet these men were so threatened by her presence, her message, her love.

We share with her family and friends in their sorrow and grief. But we grieve with hope. We know there is more to this life than meets the eye, and believe that after this life the best is yet to come.

1 comment:

Brian said...

So sad. It's interesting that this one little woman scared the Taliban so bad. Imagine what could be accomplished if all the women in Afghanistan were to join together for the common good.